Dick Van Dyke, Some Kind of a Nut, and Rosemary's Bottom!

One of my heroes turned NINETY-SEVEN this week, the wonderful and multi-talented Dick Van Dyke!

Naturally, I grew up loving his myriad television and movie appearances.  As a matter of fact, when I played one of the trolls in a high school production of "The Hobbit" in 1974 (I was also Gollum and Smaug the dragon) I did a bad copy of Mr. Van Dyke's bad Cockney accent.  Truthfully, I didn't know it was bad then.  

So later, one night in college, I caught this 1969 movie on T.V.-- 

--and the opening scene left me amazed, aroused, and all agog!

A brief summary:  this picture, written and directed by Garson Kanin, is a satire about conformity.  When Van Dyke's character can't shave after a bee stings his chin while he's fooling around in the park with his lover, he grows a beard, contrary to the strict and straight-laced rules of his bank employer.  He refuses to shave it off, is branded a rebel and fired, starting a groundswell of support and protest from his fellow employees.

Honestly, I pretty much lost interest in the flick after the initial scene, which is Old Time Burlesque, Sexy Silent Movie Comedy stuff with literal slapstick!!

Dick and his lover, the beautiful and enticing Rosemary Forsyth, try unsuccessfully to fight off the bee, rolling and falling over each other, him reaching up her skirt to try to catch it (the bee) (yeah, right), soundly slapping her fanny a couple of times, and, at the climax of this ruckus, which has attracted the attention of everyone in the park, including the cops, Rosemary has wound up draped over Dick, her skirt well up, and her pretty, round bottom in yellow panties (great shades of Tinker Bell!) in fine position for a good spanking!  

Naturally, I was rather disappointed that there actually wasn't a real spanking, beyond the two gee-I-missed-the bee smacks, but that was part of the flick's intended humor.

So Hurrah for such fare, and for the amazing Dick Van Dyke and all he's given us!

Meanwhile, Way Up North...

 Preparations and Such are underway!!  Especially Such!!

It's Magical!

Some WolfieToon Fans!

 

In Memoriam -- Phil "Overbarrel"

This is sad news, but there may be somebody peeking in who needs to know.

Phil J, who signed his hilarious and highly detailed "Poser" cartoons "Overbarrel," died this weekend after a ferocious three to four year fight with ALS.  

  His abilities to create, to partake in life as he did so richly, and eventually even to communicate, were stripped away bit by bit by what he called "this goddamned disease."  Nevertheless, he didn't spend a lot of what energy he had in fecklessly railing against it all, like I might have done, and I think his profound, nigh-unquenchable sense of humor was a saving grace. His loving wife and family were with him, and hospice care.

 Phil was a remarkable husband, father, grandfather, and a stalwart friend.  He was one who helped me out of a very dark time, and when the Internet was new, he was also one who made me understand that my particular and perhaps peculiar sexual interests were nevertheless not as deviant as I used to think.  Phil himself was as decent, intelligent, and caring a man as ever walked the planet.  We shared, across the distance via that wonderful tool, the Web, all the joys and sorrows of each other's family life, and hundreds of photos. 

 We also shared many a grin over twenty-plus years of goofy "Overbarrel" and "WolfieToon" creations.  Phil first learned the "Poser" program via a copy in German-- he didn't speak or read German-- and never stopped developing and getting better at it.  He had a natural movie director's eye, although he had never studied filmmaking, and many of his Poser Epics were cinematically brilliant.  Sometimes his 'toons were "copy heavy," and I occasionally made suggestions about word balloon placement, and even recommended putting the words below the pictures, à la "Prince Valiant," but he never went for it.

 Phil was the most guileless and honest man I've met.  I worried about that for him in the World Of Weird Web People, but he never came to or caused any harm.  And, yeah, once in a while his ribald sense of humor got the better of him, and fantasies went off in directions I wouldn't trod, but Fantasy is one thing, Reality another, and he never, ever confused the two. 

He was an exceptional raconteur, and told many stories of his childhood, military, and wedded life that I hope the family will collect and publish for a few of us.

I'm very grateful to have known Phil, and life will be a lot emptier without him.

Items from my "Phil Philes"...

A panel from one of the many Springrose Birthday Tales:

"Then and Now"

One of Phil's first "Poser" characters, "The HOLY SHIT SMILEY!"

Happy Turkey Day!!